Hinge



Dec. 22, 1.942. s. w. PARsoNs HINGE 'Filed April 19., 1940 Patented Dec. 22, 1942 HINGE Stuart W. Parsons, New Britain,y Conn., assignor to The Stanley Works, New Britain, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application April 19, 1940, lSerial No. 330,486

2 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved hinge particularly adapted for use on household refrigerators.

In such refrigerators a compressible gasket is provided between the opposing face surfaces of the door and the refrigerator cabinet, and to assure efficient operation the gasket must completely seal the space therebetween to prevent leakage of outside air into the refrigerator or cold air from the refrigerator. In many types of refrigerators the hinge leaves are secured to the opposing door and cabinet face surfaces and underlie or overlie the compressible gasket. With this construction the gasket, in passing over or under the hinge leaves, is subjected to sharp turns or bends and has a tendency to stretch between such turns or bends, resulting in air leakage at such poin-ts. In additi-on, the top and bottoni edges of the hinge leaves, which, of necessity, are relatively thick to provide proper strength, cause rapid wear of or cut into the gasket, necessitating frequent replacement of same.

The object of the present invention is to provide a hinge wherein the leaves are so constructed that the gasket will closely contact the face surfaces where it overlies or underlies the hinge leaves and thus assure an air-'tight seal between the door and cabinet.

A still further object is a hinge leaf which will not cause rapid wear or cut into the gasket, and thus the life of the gasket is substantially prolonged.

Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out more in detail hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction, combination of elements, and `arrangement of parts which will be exemplified in the construction hereafter set forth and the scope of the application of which Will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawing:

Figure 1 is a view of a hinge embodying the invention herein;

Fig. 2 is a plan View of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig, 1;

Fig. 4 is a view of the hinge shown in Fig. 1 with the leaves thereof partially in section;

Fig. 5 is a View of another type of hinge embodying the invention herein;

Fig. 6 is a View of the hinge shown in Fig. 5 and secured to a refrigerator; and

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view partially in section of the hinge shown in Fig. 5.

Referring to the drawing and more particularly to Figs. 1 .to 4, the numeral III designates a refrigerator cabinet having a door I2 hung thereon by hinges it. As indicated, the periphery of the door I2 aligns with that -of the cabinet, and.

positioned between the opposing faces II of the door and I3 of the cabinet is a gasket or sealing strip I5. rIhe gasket illustrated is of the tubular or balloon type (see Fig. 3) having an oval cross.

section with one face It secured to the inner face I I of the door adjacent the peripheral edge thereof, and the outer face I8 is free to expand away from the fixed face IIS upon the opening of the door and be compressed towards same upon the closing of the door.

In the embodiment illustrated in Figs. l to 4, the hinge I4 comprises three sections A, B, and C each including a leaf 20 and knuckle or pivoting portion 22 adapted to be arranged in vertical alignment and assembled upon a pivot pin 24. The hinge I4 may further include suitable collars 26 positioned between each pair of adjacent sections whereby the latter will not be in direct contact with one another, and the extending ends of the pivot pin 24 may be enclosed by suitable dome-like cap members 28 to lend a finished appearance to the hinge.

The hinge leaves 20 of each section are of like construction and consist of a rectangular plate of substantial thickness and having front and rear flat faces 32 and 33 lying in parallel planes. To secure the hinge, each leaf has a plurality of counter-sunk screw receiving openings 34 through which a suitable securing screw may be passed.

As best seen in Fig. 3, the hinge sections are so arranged that the front face of the sections A and C are positioned to one side of the center line of the pivot pin 2d when the hinge is in closed position; whereas the front face of the section B is positioned tothe other side of the center line. When the hinge is mounted, the leaves of sections A and C are secured to the cabinet I0 and will overlie the gasket I5 when the door is closed; whereas the leaf of section B is secured to the door I2 and will underlie the gasket at all times.

As indicated, when the door is closed, because of the thickness of the hinge leaves they occupy a considerable amount of the space between the opposing faces of the door and cabinet land the gasket will be highly compressed therebetween. In order to permit a smooth run of the gasket over the hinge leaves, the ends of each hinge leaf are provided with a bevel 38 which is obtuse to the front face 32 and makes an acute angle with the rear face 33 at the edge of the hinge. With this bevel 38 there is provided a gradual rise from the face upon which the hinge leaf is mounted to the outer face of the hinge leaf, thus eliminating any sharp turns or bends and permitting the gasket to closely contact the surface of the leaf including the beveled ends thereof and provide a complete air-tight seal therebetween. The length of the bevel may vary for different types of hinges, and in those shown it extends from the top or bottom edge to approximately the adjafcent screw receiving opening.

In addition to permitting the gasket to closely contact the free face of the opposing faces of the door and cabinet and the outer faces of the hinge leaves, the provision of the bevels also eliminates the excessive wear to which the gasket was subjected upon passing over or under the hinge leaves.

In the embodiments illustrated in Figs. to 7, the hinge is of the type wherein but one leaf member is adapted to be positioned between the inner face of the refrigerator door and the opposing face of the cabinet. This type of hinge includes a base or leaf 42 having suitable screw openings 43 therein for attaching same to the exposed face of the refrigerator cabinet 54. There is provided adjacent the top and bottom of the base 42 a pair of outwardly extending lugs 44 having a centrally arranged pivot bore 46 therein. Cooperating with the base is a single hinge leaf 48 provided at its upper and lower ends with laterally extending portions 50 carrying the knuckles 5| adapted to be aligned with the bores 46 of the base lugs 44. When so aligned, the hinge members are pivoted together by suitable pivot pins 52 extending through the knuckle 5l and seated in the bore 46.

With the base secured to the cabinet, the hinge leaf 48 is secured to the inner face of the door 56 adjacent the peripheral edge thereof and will at all times underlie the gasket 51. In like manner to the previous embodiment, the hinge leaf 48 is of substantial thickness to provide front and rear flat face surfaces 58 and 60 lying in parallel planes, and the ends of the leaf have a bevel 62 of like nature to the bevel 38 of the hinge leaves of the first embodiment.

In order to give the hinge a finished appearance, the knuckles 5I may be covered with a suitable cap 64 and the base 42 with a suitable cover member 66; the cap and cover member being frictionally secured to permit ready removal from the hinge for installation or repair purposes.

As many changes could be made in the above construction and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not ina limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the language used in the following claims is intended to cover all of the generic and specic features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which, as a matter of language, might be said to fall therebetween.

I claim as my invention:

1. A refrigerator cabinet having a door opening, a door for closing said opening, said cabinet and door having opposed parallel surfaces, a hinge for securing said door to said cabinet with said opposed surfaces in spaced arrangement, said hinge including a part secured to the cabinet and at least one leaf pivoted on said part and secured to the surface of said door opposing the surface of said cabinet, a collapsible gasket secured to said door to seal the space between said opposed surfaces and overlying the hinge leaf secured thereon, and said hinge leaf being provided at its opposite ends with a sloping bevel obtuse to the free face and acute to the attached face of the leaf, whereby said gasket will closely contact the surface of the leaf including the beveled ends of the leaf when the door is in closed position to thereby provide a complete air-tight seal therebetween.

2. A refrigerator cabinet having a door opening, a door for closing said opening, said cabinet and door having opposed parallel surfaces, a hinge for pivotally mounting said door on said cabinet with said opposed surfaces in spaced arrangement, said hinge having at least one leaf secured to one of said opposed surfaces between the cabinet and door, a compressible gasket secured to one of said opposed surfaces to seal the space between the cabinet and door and to overlie the hinge leaf secured therebetween, said hinge leaf being provided at its opposite ends with a sloping bevel obtuse to the free face and acute to the attached face of the leaf, whereby said gasket will closely contact the free face of the leaf including the beveled ends of the leaf when the door is in closed position to thereby provide a complete air-tight seal therebetween.

STUART W. PARSONS. 

